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Purpose: The aim of our study was to evaluate the oxidative stress (OS) in pregnant women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) by evaluating thiol/disulphide homeostasis using an alternative technique.Methods: A total of 57 pregnant women with ICP were compared with 50 gestational age and body mass index matched controls. A recently defined method was used for the measurement of plasma native-total thiol and disulphide levels. The independent two-sample t test, Mann-Whitney-U test, Chi-square test, binary logistic regression with backward elimination and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed for statistical analyses.Results: Pregnant women with ICP (n = 57) versus controls (n = 50) had significantly lower serum levels of native thiol (233.8 ± 47.4 μmol/L vs. 308.5 ± 51.7 μmol/L, p < .001), total thiol (258.4 ± 46.5 μmol/L vs. 328.0 ± 52.0 μmol/L, p < .001) and higher levels of disulphide (12.3 ± 3.6 μmol/L vs. 9.7 ± 3.4 μmol/L, p < .001). Binary logistic regression showed that the most important variables related to ICP were native thiol and total thiol. According to the ROC curve, the optimal cut-off level for native thiol was 280.0 μmol/L (sensitivity: 86%, specificity: 84.2%, area under the curve (AUC):0.896, 95% CI: 0.831-0.962, p < .001), and the optimal cut-off level for total thiol was 300.0 μmol/L (sensitivity: 86%, specificity: 80.7%, AUC: 0.883, 95% CI: 0.815-0.951, p < .001).Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study in the literature exploring thiol/disulphide balance in ICP. We found that thiol/disulphide balance indicate OS in pregnant woman with ICP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the presence of oxidative stress (OS) in pregnant women with Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in the first trimester by evaluating thiol/disulphide homeostasis. Study design: A total of 31 pregnant women with a diagnosis of FMF, between 11° and 136 weeks of gestation, were compared with 51 healthy pregnant controls at the same gestational weeks. A recently defined method was used to measure plasma native thiol, total thiol and disulphide levels. Results: There were no differences between groups in terms of maternal age, body mass index and numbers of gravida and parity. Antenatal complications (45.2% vs. 9.8%, P = 0.001) and primary caesarean section (22.6% vs. 5.9%, P = 0.037) were higher in the FMF group. Pregnant women with FMF had significantly lower first trimester serum levels of native thiol (297.5 μmol/l (153.2-441.8) vs. 366.1 μmol/l (288.7-432.4), P = 0.000), total thiol (327.2 μmol/l (171.0-471.0) vs. 389.9 μmol/l (317.1-449.8), P = 0.000) and higher levels of disulphide (14.2 ± 4.5 μmol/l vs. 12.4 ± 3.4 μmol/l, P = 0.045). No differences were found in these parameters among FMF patients with and without antenatal complications. Conclusions: The main outcome demonstrates a relation between OS and pregnant women with FMF in the first trimester of gestation. OS in the first trimester may be a major aetiological factor of unfavourable pregancy outcomes in this group of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To evaluate the relationship between idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) and oxidative stress (OS) by means of thiol/disulfide homeostasis via a novel technique. Methods Thirty-nine pregnant women diagnosed with idiopathic RPL were compared with 50 healthy pregnant women without a history of abortion. Idiopathic RPL was defined as experiencing two or more consecutive miscarriages prior to 20 weeks of gestation with the presence of normal karyotypes of couple and/or abortus materials, negative maternal screening for anticardiolipin, anti β 2 glycoprotein antibodies and lupus anticoagulant, normal thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin and hemoglobin A1C levels and normal pelvic sonography and/or hysterosalpingography. A new and fully automated method was used to measure plasma native thiol, total thiol and disulfide levels, based on the reduction of dynamic disulfide bonds to functional thiol groups by sodium borohydrate. Results Women with idiopathic RPL had significantly lower plasma levels of native thiol (341.89 ± 50.0 μmol/L vs. 390.84 ± 38.5 μmol/L, P < 0.001) and total thiol (386.18 ± 51.7 μmol/L vs. 435.78 ± 42.3 μmol/L, P < 0.001). Disulfide/thiol and disulfide/total thiol ratios were significantly higher in the study group. The native thiol/total thiol ratio was significantly lower in patients with idiopathic RPL. No difference was measured in disulfide, albumin and total protein plasma levels. Conclusions The main outcome of our study indicates a relation between idiopathic RPL and OS. More importantly, the new method used in our study proposes a promising, practical and daily applicable test for evaluating patients with idiopathic RPL. © 2015 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]